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Game: Utah Hockey Club vs Buffalo Sabres
Date: Saturday, December 7, 2024
Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG Network
Odds/Point Spread: Hockey Club (+150) Sabres (-182)
KeyBank Center is the site where the Buffalo Sabres (11-12-2) will attempt to defeat the Utah Hockey Club (10-11-4) on Saturday. The odds on this game have Utah at +150 and Buffalo is sitting at -182. The total is set at 6.5.
The Utah Hockey Club will need a bounce back game after taking a 2-1 loss to the Stars their last time on the ice. The Hockey Club didn't have their best offensive outing in the defeat. In the outing, they tallied a score on 1 of the 35 shots they launched. They also had 2 chances with extra men on the ice but weren't able to score. Utah tallied 6 penalty mins for this contest.
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In regard to their scoring capabilities, the Utah Hockey Club have notched 70 goals (24th in pro hockey) on the campaign and have given up 75. For the current season, they have racked up 24 points and their points percentage is .480. Utah has compiled 71 power play chances and they have notched 12 goals during those advantages, garnering them a rate of 16.90%. When playing at even strength, the Hockey Club have conceded 53 goals while having 58 on the offensive side of the ice. Utah has taken 675 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.4%. The Hockey Club so far have had 714 shots attempted against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .895. Utah Hockey Club opponents have 94 power play opportunities (2nd in the league) and have scored 22 goals in those chances.
The man protecting the net in this game is Karel Vejmelka. Opponents have scored 481 goals against Vejmelka in his professional career and his goals against average per game is 3.71. Vejmelka has been involved in 153 contests throughout his NHL career. He has a save percentage of .899 during his 7,784 minutes on the ice. He has compiled a win-loss mark of 47-82-12 and he was named the starter in 142 games. For his professional hockey career, Vejmelka has tallied 65 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .458. Vejmelka has seen 4,776 shot attempts against him and he has 4,295 total saves.
The last time they were on the ice, Buffalo went up against the Avalanche in an outing where the Sabres were on the wrong end of the score by a final score of 5-4. They had 3 power play attempts in this matchup but didn't put one in the back of the net. The Sabres recorded 4 goals of the 30 shots on goal they pursued.
The Sabres have racked up 64 goals at even strength and 11 goals (29th in hockey) while having more men on the ice. Buffalo has attempted 712 shots (23rd in pro hockey) and has earned a shot percentage of 10.53%, while allowing the other team 723 shots. So far this year, the Buffalo Sabres are sitting with 75 goals, 24 points, and a points percentage of .480. They have permitted 78 goals to be scored by of a combination of 62 goals at even strength and 16 goals while they were shorthanded. They have a total of 75 opportunities on the power play and they have a power play percentage of 14.67%. They have accumulated a penalty kill percentage of 80.25% on their oppositions 81 chances on the power play, and their save percentage comes in at 89.2%.
For the opposition you are going to see Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in goal. He has accounted for 3,102 stops out of the 3,431 shots attempted against him, which gives him a save percentage of .904. Luukkonen has accrued a career mark of 55-47-12 and has been in goal for 117 contests. He has started in 113 games and has played for a total of 5,753 minutes. Luukkonen's rate of quality starts comes out to 55.8% and he has made 63 quality starting assignments in his hockey career. Teams are averaging 3.43 goals/game and he has allowed 329 goals altogether.
Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread or moneyline?
Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo (-182)
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Additional Resources:
Buffalo Sabres – Twitter
Salt Lake City Hockey Club – Twitter
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